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[Whiskey]

The Downfall of Andy Reid
Or how the Eagles will struggle for the next 3 seasons and how Eagles fans are great

Written by Randall "Whiskey" Reed


Eagles fans can be a fickle bunch, and I am not immune to this even though I did not grow up in Philadelphia. Likewise, Eagles fans be fair, respectful, charitable and loving, all in direct oppsition of how we are portrayed in the national media. When a few jackasses throw rocks at Santa, it is remembered by the media and fans of other teams. What they don't see is the first (as far as I know anyway) fan organized and operated charity organization, Fans Helping Fans. They don't see how members of this websited banded together when one of our own, Herb, lost his battle with cancer leaving behind a young family. The media doesn't see how Eagles fans supported Herbs family with monetary donations, but more importantly with spiritual and emotional support. We Eagles fans can be fickle, but we can also be amazing!


So with that in mind, a great many Eagles fans are frustrated with the state of our team over the past years, with more and more fans jumping on this wagon during the all-time low in regards to on-field production, coaching errors and the state of the roster. We are sick of Andy Reid and his philosophy and we want a change. But the national media bombasts us with insults of stupidity and the old addage, "be careful what you wish for." Well, dear media, we had been making wishes for the years and years and years, a simple wish really, a wish that we got. We simply wanted a new coach that understanded the evolution of the game.

In rides Coach Andy Reid, the same man who came to us with strong morals, a will of steel and a message that players and fans bought hook, line and sinker. Andy Reid and his coaching staff delivered us from a dark, dark time in which we endured Rich Kotite and then Ray Rhodes. We wished for that, and we got it.

And boy, did we ever enjoy it! Coach Reid brought with him a young quartback from Syracuse, a QB who was considered to be the 5th best QB in a deep draft at that position. As evident when Donovan McNabb walked to the stage, the Eagles fans attending the draft let him know that he wasn't welcome in Philly. But those fans, who we now call The Dirty Thirty, obviously didn't represent all Eagles fans as the love affair between McNabb and Philly ignited on his first career start and burned as fiercly as such a romance can burn. Well except for the ones that end in STDs, or a Super Bowl victory. But that isn't the point here. The point is that media portrays we fans as being fickle and maybe even racist, for never truly loving and supporting Donovan McNabb regardless of the fact that we did.

Those early years were good years. The only thing the fans felt we were lacking was the mythical "big back" and a bonafide #1 WR. We were competing for and winning NFC East titles with a roster largely composed of Rhodes-era leftovers and mid-tier free agents we aquired as placeholders for future draft picks, draft picks we all thought would be very good or even great players based on Reid's early draft success. We liked what we saw, and we wanted, and wished for, more of it.

As our team came together under our Savior Andy Reid, we had a solid offense utilizing multiple running backs for some smash-mouth football, and we had a defense that was big, tough and would knock a motherfµ«ýer out with aggressive blitzing schemes and impeccible timing. We saw our recipe for success and we loved it, and we rode that Blitz Train to 4 NFC Championship games, but it just wasn't enough to get that trophy. Many felt we lacked an explosive player on the outside, a player that would require opposing defenses to stop spying McNabb and back off the line to help create running lanes. We wished for a true #1 wide receiver.  Andy Reid agreed, went out and aquired Terrel Owens. That season, our offense scored so many points that we were the envy of every other offense in the league. Donovan grew into his peak, the running game was now just to keep defenses honest and our passing game chewed through the best defenses the league could throw at us. In short, we were far and away the best team in the league. Owens got hurt, the media thought it was over for us but we marched straight into the Super Bowl by playing just as we would have had we had Owens on the field.

And then IT happened. Right there in front of us, during that playoff run. IT was undetectable to most, if not all of us. Not just the fans, but the players and media didn't detect it. But in hindsight, we should have seen it earlier, perhaps not when it happened, but during the next two years. So what was IT, you may ask? Inflation. Inflation of Andy Reid's Ego and his Arrogance, and boy did it swell, to monumental proportions. Andy even actually built a monument to honor that massive ego. That monument still stands today, but it is deteriorating in front of our eyes, a rotten or ruined piece is chipped off and swept away, then another and another. That monument to Andy's Ego is our current roster and coaching staff.


Andy now believed he had an elite QB just stepping into his peak years, an offense capable of outscoring any offense we might face, an offense that could put up 20 points in the first quarter. He thought he had a 750 horsepower muscle car, and by God he was going to fill the tank with racing fuel and hammer the gas! But there was one thing now missing from the new formula. The 350 horsepower diesel worktruck with the spike pushbar wasn't needed anymore on defense, instead we needed a fast, nimble sports car to play with a big lead, blacking out the headlights and darting for the QB while ballhawking corners took advantage of rushed throws and created turnovers. So the defensive retooling began, releasing the old style smashmouthed guys and bringing in finesse players, or "fastballs".

It took a couple more years to completely retool the defensive side of the roster, but we were adding some of the most explosive players we had ever seen on the Eagles. WRs who had blazing speed, run through traffic and double as big-play providers on special teams. We also had two RBs, one an explosive veteran that was arguable the best the Eagles had ever had, and a young kid from Pitt that had a lot of potential but would never be anything more than a backup to our beloved Westy.

And the defensive retooling continued. But at this point, the defense still wasn't finished being built and McNabb, being forced to throw the ball 50 times per game with no running game support, was being run out of town with his heir apparent ready to take the wheel of the badass muscle car. That QB turned out to suck, but luckily we had, on the bench, a slightly used but still fully functional Two Stage Turbo System that would turn that 750HP muscle car into a 1200HP full fledged Drag Racer. We were stepping up in class, and even though that retooled defense wasn't finished yet, it wouldn't matter. Well, for about 8 games. That Drag Racing Beast first blew the turbo piping, then a head gasket, then threw a piston. We now have a 180HP Toyota Carolla that is beat up and rusted out. On the other side, and I'm not sure who authorized its purchase, but we have a used pitching machine throwing 70 MPH "fastballs" but it can be pushed over by stiff breeze.

We didn't get what we had wished for, and what we got happened in increments so that we couldn't see what they were building.



It is pretty clear at this point that Andy Reid's arrogance has been his undoing. From the hiring of McDufuss, then hiring his excellent offensive line coach as defensive coordinator to the flawed thinking that he could take a once great prospect who had intentionally stunted his own growth as a quarterback and making these men key contributers to the success of the franchise. Gone were the defensive players that filled opposing players with fear, and in thier place were highly paid Fancy Nancys that are allergic to tackling. Gone were the beef eating maulers who paved 4 lane freeways for our talented running backs and protected our beloved McNabb in his early to middle years, in thier place a ragtag group of finess blockers playing out of position.

Gone is the team, and coach that we all fell in love with, in its place the mirror image of the expansion -era Cleveland Browns.  Worse yet, when Andy Reid moves on after this season, our new coach and his staff will be faced with the daunting task of rebuilding the offensive line, the entire defense and aquiring tough-nosed headhunters for the special teams units. While its true that we have some very talented, young stars for the new staff to build around, it will still take a good 3 seasons before our team will take flight. During this time, the coaches and players will be subjected to us, we fickle fans. We could be hard on them, proving to the media once again that we are the "worst fans" in the league.


Or, we could be great, like we can be. Like we have been. Like we are deep inside of each of us. Lets show them a new, to them anyway, brand of Eagles fan. Lets show them that while we can be let down like a fat kid on a blind date, we can rise above that frustration and carry these new coaches and players on our backs, until such time they are ready to take to flight and soar above all the rest. Let us be great, because we are!

[kb420]

Screw the national media and how they perceive this fanbase.  The fanbase isn't responsible for this team's current situation.  The fanbase doesn't have to change at all, and shouldn't be asked to do so by anybody.

It's the coaching staff and player personnel evaluation and recruitment that needs a change.

Asking the fanbase to change is just a convoluted way of indirectly blaming them for this team's current status, and I'm not having it at all.

[greenblood0118]

kb420, on 20 December 2012 - 05:50 AM, said:

Screw the national media and how they perceive this fanbase.  The fanbase isn't responsible for this team's current situation.  The fanbase doesn't have to change at all, and shouldn't be asked to do so by anybody.

It's the coaching staff and player personnel evaluation and recruitment that needs a change.

Asking the fanbase to change is just a convoluted way of indirectly blaming them for this team's current status, and I'm not having it at all.

Word.

[Shore_Eagle_Fan]

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I  would add that AR flat out neglected the defense and special teams.. He believed his all powerful o would dominate everything and win.

You need balance. A complete team balanced offensive a.good defense.

AR focused only on his precious o for too long. When he finally realized this he rushed to correct the problem with FA's.
The team also did not draff dwell.

[CountBlah]

Shore_Eagle_Fan, on 20 December 2012 - 06:49 AM, said:

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I  would add that AR flat out neglected the defense and special teams.. He believed his all powerful o would dominate everything and win.

You need balance. A complete team balanced offensive a.good defense.

AR focused only on his precious o for too long. When he finally realized this he rushed to correct the problem with FA's.
The team also did not draff dwell.

One of my "favorite" Andy memory was him going into the season without a single KR on the roster in 2007.   Him looking over one shoulder than another and saying "OK, so who can field a kick,  it's not that hard, right?"

[Ipspots]

I wont miss "i'll take responsibility for that, I have to put guys in a better position to make plays, times yours"

[birdman#12]

Andy Reid simply took advantage of a very weak NFC in his early years......As now, he couldn't see obvious holes in his team then, but with the competition so lousy, he got away with it.

F--- his record.  Head coaches are exposed in the playoffs and he simply couldn't get it done.  Those holes were always exposed and exploited.  And he never was a good in-game adjuster, so he could counter when an opposing coach made his adjustments.  

I know alot of fans are hanging on reid's past.......but after 14 years, he's had chance after chance to do what he was brought here to do.  And the simple fact is that for the past 8 years the eagles have been brutally average and never a real contender for a super bowl championship.  8 F------- YEARS.  

It's time for a change.....good for the eagles and it will be good for reid.

[kmass88]

I saw the change in the Superbowl.  While it was true that the Eagles had always been more pass happy during  those years than most it never seemed to bother me too too much. Because a lot of the throws were screens, options and intermediate passes with the occasional bomb thrown in.  

But during and after the Superbowl I noticed that we started airing it out beyond 10-15 yards. A LOT.  Gone were the quick smart "just get the first down" WCO (even though we've always had a hybrid WCO passes in favor of a bomb on first down and second (maybe a run), and depending on the down and yardage, another long throw.  I can't recall over the years how many 3 and 1 situations that we came out and were THROWING 15 yds down the field or working on deep routes.  That's when I myself noticed a definitive change.  It was in and after the Superbowl with the Pats and acquisition of Terrell Owens.

Reid fell in love with the stretch the field throw the ball deep guys and NEVER looked back.

[Mr_Philly]

Throw rocks at Santa? I stopped reading the article after that statement.

[Whiskey]

Mr_Philly, on 20 December 2012 - 01:52 PM, said:

Throw rocks at Santa? I stopped reading the article after that statement.

It is widely reported and believed that Philly fans threw rocks at Santa. My point was about how we as Eagles fans are portrayed by the media and by fans of other teams.

[MIRV Griffen]

CountBlah, on 20 December 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

One of my "favorite" Andy memory was him going into the season without a single KR on the roster in 2007.   Him looking over one shoulder than another and saying "OK, so who can field a kick,  it's not that hard, right?"

I was victim of that disaster: the JR Reed (post-injury)/Greg Lewis debacle in Green Bay that I drove 11 hours to witness in person.

Despite his many screw-ups (and the equally miserable abomination in AZ that I drove to see inp erson this season) , I don't hate Andy and recognize that he really had a good thing going here for many years.  It's time for him to go, but blaming the fans or the culture in just dumb.

[Eaglesfanforlife]

kb420, on 20 December 2012 - 05:50 AM, said:

Screw the national media and how they perceive this fanbase.  The fanbase isn't responsible for this team's current situation.  The fanbase doesn't have to change at all, and shouldn't be asked to do so by anybody.

It's the coaching staff and player personnel evaluation and recruitment that needs a change.

Asking the fanbase to change is just a convoluted way of indirectly blaming them for this team's current status, and I'm not having it at all.

Excellent, well said.

[Eaglesfanforlife]

birdman#12, on 20 December 2012 - 01:16 PM, said:

Andy Reid simply took advantage of a very weak NFC in his early years......As now, he couldn't see obvious holes in his team then, but with the competition so lousy, he got away with it.

F--- his record.  Head coaches are exposed in the playoffs and he simply couldn't get it done.  Those holes were always exposed and exploited.  And he never was a good in-game adjuster, so he could counter when an opposing coach made his adjustments.  

I know alot of fans are hanging on reid's past.......but after 14 years, he's had chance after chance to do what he was brought here to do.  And the simple fact is that for the past 8 years the eagles have been brutally average and never a real contender for a super bowl championship.  8 F------- YEARS.  

It's time for a change.....good for the eagles and it will be good for reid.

Wooohoooo. Exactly.